Egbert Bakker
· Alvan Talcott Professor of ClassicsYale University · Department of Classics
Active 1958–2024
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About
Egbert Bakker is the Alvan Talcott Professor of Classics at Yale University, where he has taught since 2004. He holds a PhD from Leiden University, obtained in 1988, and has previously held academic positions at the University of Texas at Austin, Université de Montréal, University of Virginia, and Leiden University. His research focuses on Greek language and literature, with particular interest in the linguistic aspects of poetic problems. Bakker has written extensively on Homeric poetry and language, oral poetry, poetic performance, the linguistic articulation of narrative, and the differences between speaking and writing. His long-term projects include a commentary on Book 11 of the Iliad and a new Homeric grammar. Among his recent publications are books such as 'Authorship and Greek Song: Authority, Authenticity, and Performance,' 'Pointing at the Past: From Formula to Performance in Homeric Poetics,' 'A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language,' and 'The Meaning of Meat and the Structure of the Odyssey.' His commentary on Book 9 of the Odyssey is scheduled for publication in February 2025. Bakker's work contributes to the understanding of Greek language, oral tradition, and Homeric poetics, emphasizing the linguistic and performative aspects of ancient Greek literature.
Research topics
- Philosophy
- History
- Literature
- Art
- Political Science
- Computer Science
- Linguistics
- Epistemology
- Law
- Psychology
Selected publications
Hector (and) the race horse: The telescopic vision of the Iliad
2017-10-10 · 29 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingTrends in Classics · 2020 · 9 citations
1st authorCorrespondingAbstract This contribution discusses the plot of the Odyssey as a field of opposing forces shaping the ending of the poem: (i) the generic tension between folktale and epic; (ii) the fundamental ambiguity of the poem’s climactic event, the killing of the Suitors (justice or revenge?); and (iii) the antagonism between Zeus and Poseidon. On this basis two competing scenarios for the ending of the poem are proposed: amnesia and departure, the former viewing the theme of revenge on the human plane,…
<i>In and Out of the Golden Age: A Hesiodic Reading of the</i>Odyssey
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2019-05-23 · 9 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingA summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
2019-12-05 · 3 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingThis chapter offers a broad overview of oral-formulaic theory. It argues that the conditions for formulaic composition of epic poetry in hexametric verse are not confined to the historical context envisaged by oral-formulaic theory: the production of epic song in the complete absence of writing and texts. Reading and writing in their earliest stages do not end a poet's reliance on the interplay between formulas and the verse. Nor are formulas as such a phenomenon that is confined to oral-formula…
Trust and Fame: The Seal of Theognis
2017-01-01 · 3 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
Frequent coauthors
- 5 shared
Irene J. F. de Jong
- 5 shared
Carolyn Dewald
- 5 shared
Hans van Wees
- 2 shared
Nino Luraghi
New College
- 1 shared
P.B. Checkland
Imperial Metals (Canada)
- 1 shared
H.J.C. Bakker
- 1 shared
Rachel S.C. Friedman
Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center
- 1 shared
Robert Fowler
Johns Hopkins Hospital
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